Preserving funeral flowers has been traced back several 1,000 years, when digs in Iran discovered pollen in soil samples after bodies had been unearthed, that led to the conclusion that a wreaths had been created for the deceased. This was proof that the burial rituals included preserved sympathy flowers.

We save funeral flowers as a memorial or tribute to hold on to a positive memory of a loved one. It gives us a sense of healing from the loss and bereavement.

Our ancestors began these ritual thousands of years before us. The funeral flowers that were used in the preserved wreaths of the people found in Iran consisted of well-known medicinal plants that we still use today for the medicinal properties associate with them. The wreath contained yarrow, healer of wounds, groundsel (tonic), cornflower, a soothing eye-wash, St. Barnaby’s thistle which eases spasms or pain, grape hyacinth (purgative), and hollyhock, a natural aspirin. Horsetail was also found underneath one of the skeletons possibly there as a soft bed for the deceased.

Egyptian hieroglyphics also show that aromatic plants and oils were often used medicinally and for religious purposes. Inside the tombs and pyramids were pressed figs, beeswax, and flower oils that were stockpiled as provisions for the afterlife. The corpses of important Egyptian personages were embalmed with sacred embalming perfume – a mixture which included myrrh, cinnamon, juniper, honey and raisins steeped in wine.

Funeral flowers have been used in almost every culture to provide a memorial or tribute to loved ones. The Greeks were the ones to study in earnest the effects of aromatic oils on thinking, feeling and health. The Romans used funeral flowers in voluminous amounts and held them in high esteem. During festivals, they used several thousand blooms to decorate streets, homes, and themselves. Flowers were an important part of their life, just as today we mark our celebrations and the passing of someone’s life with sympathy flowers.

We have a fine selection of funeral flower and sympathy products that you can choose from to preserve and display your precious memories. These include shadow boxes for freeze dried flowers and frames for pressed flowers, both offered with or without selected poems or other text of your choosing, keepsake balls and bookmarks.

Browse our collection of gifts for expressions of sympathy to friends and loved ones in times of loss and grief.

We also have assembled a nice collection of sympathy poems for you to choose from for your special gift.